Lurker with an OT question. I need help getting the right settings for a church

[bear_mom]

My dd has her first communion and I can't seem to get the right settings for inside the church. I have a Cannon Rebel XT with a Tamron 18-200 mm lens.

TIA,
Emily

 

[VVFF]

My dd has her first communion and I can't seem to get the right settings for inside the church. I have a Cannon Rebel XT with a Tamron 18-200 mm lens.

TIA,
Emily

Zoom out all the way, set it to M mode and choose ISO 800 F3.5 shutter speed 1/100 or around that(assuming nobodies moving too fast) and pop up the flash (assuming its allowed).

You could also use Tv mode at 1/100th a second and it would probably use F3.5 and do the same thing as the above method

Av mode at F3.5 will attempt to balance ambient light which will result in longer shutter speeds even with flash unless you change the custom functions of the camera allowing it to do otherwise.

 

[photo_chick]

No one can tell you the exact right settings because much will depend on the light in the church. The time of day, the type of windows and their placement, if it's overcast or sunny.. they will all affect the shot and the settings. And we all have our own approach to how we shoot so there is no right tor wrong anyway, only a properly exposed image and there are different ways to get that.

Keeping the lens wide is great advice. The longer the lens, the more light it needs to get the exposure. When it's open wide to 18mm you should be able to get a decent shutter speed with no flash on the XT in many in door situations if the room is well lit.

If it were me.... I would go with shutter priority (Tv) in this type of situation. I'd set it to 1/125 and have the ISO at 1600. Yes, it will be noisy on the XT, but with the lens you have that's probably unavoidable. I'd keep the lens pulled in and let the camera choose the aperture, it's likely going to be pretty wide. If that can't get the exposure with that shutter speed I would drop down, but not below 90 in a situation like that. If there was more than enough light to get the shot at 1/125, I'd either zoom in some or lower the ISO, depending on the situation. And keep in mind, the shutter speeds I'd start with are with the lens at 18mm so if you zoom in much you will have to increase the shutter speed ot compensate for the longer focal length.

It's really a balancing act.

Also.. the XT does not auto focus well in low light. If it's particularly muddy light I might use manual focus. Again though, not something I can say for sure sitting here at my computer and not on site.

 

[mabas9395]

If you have the time and the funds. See if you can pick up a 50mm f/1.8 lens. It can be found for less than $100 and if used correctly can really improve your indoor photography. Just watch out for shallow DoF.

Also, if you shoot RAW, you should have an easier time correcting any color casts you get from indoor lighting.

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Please take what I say with a good amount of salt because I'm still learning.

I'm now an advocate for shooting in RAW since my last outing, so that would be my first piece of advice. It's crazy IMO how much you can save in post processing if you had to.

I'd set the white balance manually when you first get there if you need to shoot JPG.

Tripod or a monopod for me seem to be a must anymore. I'm only 31 but can't hold that dern camera still to save my life. I don't mind being "that guy" anymore.

As far as shutter speed... it's already been covered, and they know what they're talking about MUCH more than I do.

 

[bear_mom]

If you have the time and the funds. See if you can pick up a 50mm f/1.8 lens. It can be found for less than $100 and if used correctly can really improve your indoor photography. Just watch out for shallow DoF.

Also, if you shoot RAW, you should have an easier time correcting any color casts you get from indoor lighting.

I already have this lens for taking dark pictures at Disney. Didn't really think of using it for indoors.

Thanks,
Emily

 

[bear_mom]

Zoom out all the way, set it to M mode and choose ISO 800 F3.5 shutter speed 1/100 or around that(assuming nobodies moving too fast) and pop up the flash (assuming its allowed).

You could also use Tv mode at 1/100th a second and it would probably use F3.5 and do the same thing as the above method

Av mode at F3.5 will attempt to balance ambient light which will result in longer shutter speeds even with flash unless you change the custom functions of the camera allowing it to do otherwise.

No one can tell you the exact right settings because much will depend on the light in the church. The time of day, the type of windows and their placement, if it's overcast or sunny.. they will all affect the shot and the settings. And we all have our own approach to how we shoot so there is no right tor wrong anyway, only a properly exposed image and there are different ways to get that.

Keeping the lens wide is great advice. The longer the lens, the more light it needs to get the exposure. When it's open wide to 18mm you should be able to get a decent shutter speed with no flash on the XT in many in door situations if the room is well lit.

If it were me.... I would go with shutter priority (Tv) in this type of situation. I'd set it to 1/125 and have the ISO at 1600. Yes, it will be noisy on the XT, but with the lens you have that's probably unavoidable. I'd keep the lens pulled in and let the camera choose the aperture, it's likely going to be pretty wide. If that can't get the exposure with that shutter speed I would drop down, but not below 90 in a situation like that. If there was more than enough light to get the shot at 1/125, I'd either zoom in some or lower the ISO, depending on the situation. And keep in mind, the shutter speeds I'd start with are with the lens at 18mm so if you zoom in much you will have to increase the shutter speed ot compensate for the longer focal length.

It's really a balancing act.

Also.. the XT does not auto focus well in low light. If it's particularly muddy light I might use manual focus. Again though, not something I can say for sure sitting here at my computer and not on site.

Thanks for the suggestions. There is practice the day before so I will try some of these different settings in the church and then download them when we get home.

Emily

 

[photo_chick]

If you have the 50mm f/1.8 use it. It does wonders for the Rebel XT when shooting indoors. You might even be able to drop the ISO down to 800 in a well lit church with it.

 

[Frantasmic]

The BEST advice for indoor events is LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.

Get there early and up front.

You will want to sit close because 50mm is kind of wide and you want tighter shots of your child.

For the XT, I'd keep the ISO down as low as you think you can get away with because it just doesn't have the sensor that newer cameras have.

If it is a darker area, your pictures may still come out grainy, no matter how much you play with the ISO and do noise control. Remember also that at f stops below 3.2, your focal point is smaller too, so you want to make sure you focus well.

 

[mom2rtk]

Don't be afraid to ask ahead of time what is ok during church as far as photography goes. A flash would do wonders for your shots, but you need to know before going in if they allow that. Our church was fine with it last year, and they were fine with people moving around to get a better shot.

Also, don't rush out when you're done. Hopefully you can get some better staged shots in some lovely surroundings after the fact.

 

[VVFF]

If you have the 50mm f/1.8 use it. It does wonders for the Rebel XT when shooting indoors. You might even be able to drop the ISO down to 800 in a well lit church with it.

At the very least she'll get more portrait-like shots instead of full body shots(note to OP, you probably don't want to get too close to a persons face at 18mm use that only for shots where you are doing more full body). In addition, she'll reduce the amount of flash needed to properly expose the remaining light needed for the shot resulting in less obvious shadows....who knows you may not even need the flash at F1.8...just depends on the church.

 

[boBQuincy]

Zoom out all the way, set it to M mode and choose ISO 800 F3.5 shutter speed 1/100 or around that(assuming nobodies moving too fast) and pop up the flash (assuming its allowed).

You could also use Tv mode at 1/100th a second and it would probably use F3.5 and do the same thing as the above method

I do not understand the reason for using Manual when our cameras have meters and the light level is unknown. To me it seems the chances of an incorrect exposure are very high that way.
Similar with Tv, where f/3.5 is still likely to give underexposure.

 

[AndrewWG]

If you can use flash, keep your ISO down. There is no need to increase your chances of noise when your lighting will most likely be sufficient enough for a lower ISO like 100 200 or maybe 400.